Mistakes prove costly as Cal Poly baseball falls to San Jose State

Despite out-hitting San Jose State 11-9, the Cal Poly baseball team lost 7-4 at Municipal Stadium Tuesday night.

The Mustangs hit four doubles and two triples in the same inning but grounded into three double plays and stranded 12 runners on base. With the win, San Jose State improved to 5-4 while Cal Poly fell to 3-5.

For Cal Poly, junior center fielder Alex McKenna went two for four at the plate with a double and an RBI triple. McKenna is batting .321 on the season through eight games played this season.

Cal Poly struck first when freshman infielder Tate Samuelson hit a two-run double that scored junior catcher Nick Meyer and McKenna to give the Mustangs a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Meyer is hitting a team-leading .375 batting average this season.

However, San Jose State tied the game at 2 with a sacrifice fly by Johnny Mendoza in the second inning. The Spartans pulled ahead by scoring four unearned runs in the third inning. Shane Timmons kicked off the scoring run with an RBI single to give the Spartans a 3-2 lead. Later in the inning, Sawyer Pittman singled home Timmons to extend the lead to 6-2.

Starting pitcher Austin Dondanville, who only lasted one inning, gave up three hits and allowed two earned runs. Sophomore right-hander Connor Redmond (0-1) was credited with the loss, allowing three unearned runs.

Cal Poly tried to rally back with an RBI double from freshman pitcher Darren Nelson in the eighth inning to cut the Spartans’ lead to 7-4.

That was as close as the Mustangs got, as they committed three errors and stranded a dozen runners on base in the loss.

Next, Cal Poly will host the University of Pacific in their home opener with a four-game series starting on Friday at 6 p.m. in Baggett Stadium.